An ultrasonic parking assistance device which assists the driver of a vehicle when parking in a parking space is known from the book Autoelektrik, Autoelektronik [Automotive Electrical Systems, Automotive Electronics], Vieweg Verlag, 1998, pp. 283-285 (chapter entitled “Parking Systems”).
Furthermore, systems which monitor a vehicle's blind spot and inform the driver if an object is detected in the blind spot are known from the related art. Such a device is known heretofore for example from German Published Patent Application No. 42 28 794.